Life and Times of Kalyan

Page 3 (Part 2)

Page 3 has lost its chronological slot on a newspaper. It has become a cult, a new sub-culture, a way of life the country’s young are invited to participate in. Its life at an infectious, frenetic pace where wine and cocktails have become passe, yielding to hash, heroin, cocaine. Even damning publicity is good publicity- this is the credo by which occupants of page 3 live.

Liberalisation created two classes: One who actually had the wealth and the other who felt they were close enough to smell the roses. Then, sometime during the past decade it suddenly became OK to flaunt your body, your wealth and your wife, in that order. But we are way behind other countries when it comes to paparazzi. You still can’t write about a chief minister’s girlfriend. Public display of affection is still a taboo and voyeurism is at its peak.

Wealth without culture can produce the sort of unthinking middle clan the film Page 3 aptly portrays. Lakshmi minus Saraswati defines the new class aspiring for a slot on page 3. You can criticise Bhandarkar for his predictability. But you cannot deny the monstrosity he dares to depict. One doesn’t know how many Page 3 regulars feel apologetic after having watched Page Three.

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